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UW Begins Faculty, Staff Reductions Through Attrition

October 22, 2012 — Aiming to reduce its faculty and staff budgets
without layoffs, the University of Wyoming has begun holding some positions
open to prepare for a state budget cut of up to $15.7 million in fiscal year
2014.

The actions are in line with UW’s budget reduction
plan presented in May to Gov. Matt Mead. Anticipating declines in state
revenues, the governor in April asked state agencies to plan for possible 8
percent budget reductions for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2013. For UW,
the target would amount to $15.7 million.

"It's important for the university to act now.
I am committed to making any reductions in personnel through attrition, to the
greatest extent feasible, rather than by layoffs,” UW President Tom Buchanan
says. “This will be possible only by acting immediately to reserve a portion of
the salary and benefits vacated by retiring and resigning faculty, staff and
administrators.”

By reducing spending in the current fiscal year, the
university can lessen the need for potential layoffs if the full 8 percent
reduction is ordered by the governor and the Wyoming Legislature.

The university’s plan calls for a reduction in
non-personnel expenses of 14 percent, with just a 3.5 percent cut in personnel
expenses. Still, a 3.5 percent reduction for personnel equals $6.5 million in
salaries and benefits. While the governor has not indicated whether a $15.7
million cut actually will be imposed, UW is leaving some positions open starting
in the current fiscal year.

As a first step, UW’s Office of Academic Affairs
this summer used the existing faculty central position management process to
hold in reserve $1 million of the $3.57 million in annual faculty and academic
professional salaries vacated in the 2012 fiscal year. This amount represents
12 unfilled faculty positions.

And on Oct. 3, UW’s vice presidents reviewed 84
vacant non-academic staff positions representing $3.05 million in annual
salaries. They identified 28 of those positions to hold open, reserving $716,385
in salaries to be used to meet the projected budget reductions, should they be
enacted by the Legislature.

The non-academic staff positions are scattered
across numerous campus units, including Academic Affairs, Administration and
Finance, Athletics, Information Technology, the President’s Office, the Office
of Research and Economic Development and Student Affairs.

“We are endeavoring to minimize the impact of these
staff reductions on students and our core academic mission,” Buchanan says.
“But any staff reductions have impacts, and they will be specific to the
individual units where the reductions take place.”

The next quarterly meeting to review vacant
non-academic positions will take place in January.

If state budget cuts are less severe than $15.7
million, UW could fill some of the open positions.